ACT ONE: THE DIRTY POLITICS UNMASKING—When the Emails Told the Truth

In August 2014, thousands of hacked emails ripped the mask off New Zealand politics. Investigative journalist Nicky Hager’s Dirty Politics exposed a lengthy history of correspondence between right-wing blogger Cameron Slater and Justice Minister Judith Collins that revealed something far more sinister than garden-variety political spin. This was industrial-scale institutional sabotage.

THE DEATH THREATS SHE ENABLED

In 2009, Collins emailed Slater the private details of public servant Simon Pleasants, including his phone number. Pleasants was subsequently abused on Slater’s Whale Oil blog and received death threats.

A Justice Minister—sworn to uphold the law—leaked a civil servant’s personal information to a attack blogger, knowing exactly what would happen.

When questioned by police about this, Collins joked:

“Oh gosh, what a shock” about Slater being leaked police evidence.

Quantifying the Harm:

A public servant doing his job received death threats because a Cabinet Minister weaponized her access to private information. The psychological damage, the fear instilled in other public servants about speaking truth to power, the corruption of the very concept of ministerial responsibility—incalculable but profound.

“IF YOU CAN’T BE LOVED, BE FEARED”

The most chilling revelation:

a text from Collins to Slater reading

“if you can’t be loved, then best to be feared”

—a near-paraphrase of Machiavelli showing Collins’ entire political philosophy centered on power through intimidation and terror.

This wasn’t political strategy. This was the confession of a bully who understood that fear, not respect, was her currency.

THE NICKNAMES OF A PETTY TYRANT

The emails showed Collins as petty and vindictive, using insulting nicknames for opponents. Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni was “Septic Tank”.

About National Party infighting, Collins wrote to Slater:

“Personally I would be out for total destruction”.

Total destruction. Not political disagreement. Not principled opposition. Total destruction of anyone who stood in her way.

ACT TWO: THE SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE SMEAR—Corruption Protecting Corruption

The scandal that finally forced Collins to resign revealed the darkest pattern: a Cabinet Minister using her position to orchestrate campaigns against independent watchdogs investigating wealthy donors.

In a 2011 email from Slater to “Mark” (believed to be Hanover Finance’s Mark Hotchin) and PR man Carrick Graham, Slater detailed an orchestrated campaign to destroy Serious Fraud Office director Adam Feeley:

“I also spoke at length with the Minister responsible today (Judith Collins). She is gunning for Feeley. Any information that we can provide her on his background is appreciated. I have outlined for her a coming blog post about the massive staff turnover and she has added that to the review of the State Services Commissioner. She is using the review of these events to go on a trawl looking for anything else. It is my opinion that Feeley’s position is untenable.” —Interest.co.nz

Read that again. The Justice Minister—responsible for the Serious Fraud Office—was actively “gunning” for its director, soliciting dirt from financial fraudsters under investigation, and using official government reviews as cover for a personal vendetta.

Why? The SFO was investigating Hanover Finance, which had collected $11.5 million in political donations, mostly to National. Collins was protecting donors who had bought access.

Collins resigned as Justice Minister on August 29, 2014, calling the allegations a “distraction.” Prime Minister John Key stripped her of the right to use the title “the Honourable”—though as we’ll see, this was pure theatre.

THE “CLEARED” DECEPTION: How to Escape Accountability Through Narrow Inquiries

Collins claims she was “cleared” of everything in Dirty Politics.

This is a brazen lie.

As Nicky Hager explains:

“The party did not want to give credibility to the book by saying it was the reason for her demotion. Instead the prime minister’s staff managed to obtain a new email, which had nothing to do with the book, about Collins, Slater and a campaign to smear the Serious Fraud Office head. It was on the basis of this separate email that Collins had to step down. After the election an inquiry cleared her of involvement in the SFO smear and she returned to cabinet – but the inquiry had not cleared her of anything in the book.“

The official inquiry by Justice Lester Chisholm found that:

• There WERE “efforts” to undermine Feeley by two separate groups
• Slater took the “leading role” in undermining Feeley
• Collins “on occasions discussed Mr Feeley with Mr Slater, and thereby provided information to Mr Slater”
• The specific email claiming Collins was “gunning” for Feeley was deemed “unreliable”

But the inquiry never examined:

• Collins’ systematic collaboration with Slater to smear opponents
• Her leaking of information about public servants
• Her use of attack politics to terrorize civil servants
• The death threats enabled by her information leaks
• Her “if you can’t be loved, be feared” philosophy

Collins “continued to refuse to answer questions about her long-term collaboration with Slater,” Hager notes.

This is how institutional corruption operates in “respectable” democracies: Commission narrow inquiries that ignore the pattern, declare yourself “cleared,” and return to power.

Quantifying the Harm:

• SFO director undermined while investigating financial fraud that cost New Zealanders $11.5 million in donations plus untold millions in losses
• Public confidence in fraud investigations destroyed
• Future SFO directors now know: investigate the wrong people, and the Justice Minister will “gun” for you
• Message sent to all public servants: cross political donors at your peril

ACT THREE: THE PATTERN OF INSTITUTIONAL SABOTAGE

Collins’ corruption wasn’t episodic. It was systematic. Every institution that inconvenienced her or her allies got the same treatment.

THE DAVID BAIN COMPENSATION SCANDAL: Perverting Justice for Political Points

When wrongly-convicted David Bain sought compensation after 13 years in prison, Collins—as Justice Minister—commissioned a peer review by former judge Robert Fisher, sending a “34-point list of issues attacking the case” along with her letter of instruction.

Collins did not provide a copy of Justice Binnie’s compensation recommendation to Bain’s legal team, violating basic natural justice principles.

This led to accusations from Bain’s team and from Justice Binnie that Collins was not following an “even handed process”. Bain filed a High Court claim alleging Collins “acted in bad faith, abused her power, and acted in a biased, unreasonable and predetermined manner”.

A Justice Minister—sworn to uphold fairness—rigged a compensation process against a man who had been wrongly imprisoned for 13 years. Why? Because admitting the justice system failed would be politically embarrassing.

Quantifying the Harm:

• David Bain denied fair compensation process after 13 years wrongly imprisoned
• Precedent set that Justice Ministers can bias supposedly independent reviews
• Message sent: even proven miscarriages of justice won’t be fairly addressed if politically inconvenient

THE BRONWYN PULLAR ACC LEAK: When Ministerial Information Becomes a Weapon

On March 13, 2012, news broke that ACC had accidentally released private details of thousands of claims.

That same day, Slater received a Facebook message from a friend worried about the leak. Slater replied: “I will call Collins and get the real story”.

The next day, Slater wrote back with details only the Minister could know:

“Your file wasn’t leaked... The person who got it was a woman. She then tried to blackmail ACC... she is now likely to be prosecuted for extortion... I spoke to the minister... Judith has never lied to me.”

Days later, the Herald on Sunday named the claimant as Bronwyn Pullar and published details about a leaked email.

The pattern is unmistakable: Crisis emerges → Slater contacts Collins → Detailed inside information appears on Slater’s blog → Victim gets smeared publicly → Collins denies everything.

Quantifying the Harm:

• Bronwyn Pullar’s medical privacy violated
• ACC’s institutional failure deflected onto individual claimant
• Thousands of other ACC claimants’ privacy breaches overshadowed
• Future ACC complainants terrorized into silence

ACT FOUR: BILL ENGLISH SAW IT COMING—THE PROPHETIC WARNING

In 2004, after Collins had been in Parliament only two years, then-Finance Minister Bill English wrote an assessment revealed in Hager’s The Hollow Men:

“She had an unfortunately high estimation of her own competence and spent too much time cultivating the media herself and believing the resulting publicity... She will find it hard to recover credibility in caucus where she has been a tough critic of her colleagues behind the scenes and they know it.”

Twenty-two years later, Hager notes, “it’s still the same.”

English identified the pathology early: narcissism, media manipulation, backstabbing colleagues, and an “unfortunately high estimation of her own competence” that would make her dangerous in high office.

And yet here we are. From Justice Minister to Defence Minister to Attorney-General to Law Commission President—the very body meant to provide independent advice on legal reform.

ACT FIVE: THE ORAVIDA SCANDAL REVISITED—Corporate Corruption 101

We covered this scandal earlier, but it deserves emphasis as part of the pattern.

Collins’ husband David Wong-Tung directed Oravida, a dairy export company that donated $50,000 to National. Former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley served as Oravida chairwoman. Prime Minister John Key’s photo playing golf with Oravida’s chairman was taken at a National Party fundraiser.

In April 2013, Wong-Tung emailed New Zealand’s Ambassador to China seeking help for Oravida, leveraging contacts from accompanying Collins on a 2012 ministerial spouse trip.

Then in October 2013, during an official ministerial trip to China, Collins visited Oravida’s Shanghai offices and dined with Chinese border control officials and Oravida executives.

This is textbook corruption:

1. Corporate donor gives $50,000 to ruling party
2. Minister’s husband becomes company director
3. Former Prime Minister becomes company chairwoman
4. Husband leverages ministerial spouse access for business contacts
5. Minister visits company offices during official government travel
6. When exposed, Minister claims no conflict exists

Quantifying the Harm:

• Public trust in ministerial integrity destroyed
• Precedent set that $50,000 buys ministerial access
• Message sent: marry a politician, become a director, profit
• Cabinet Manual conflict-of-interest provisions rendered meaningless

ACT SIX: THE FAST TRACK MYSTERY—The Secret “Personal Interest”

On February 28, 2024, Collins declared “a potential conflict between a personal interest regarding the fast-track consenting legislation and her law officer functions as Attorney-General”.

The Attorney-General—the government’s chief legal advisor—had to completely recuse herself from flagship legislation because of an undisclosed “personal interest”.

The management arrangements:

• Collins could not receive Cabinet papers on the Fast Track Bill
• She was barred from reporting on Bill of Rights Act consistency
• She could not advise on rule of law considerations
• When discussed at Cabinet, Collins had to physically leave the room

The nature of this “personal interest” has NEVER been publicly disclosed.

This is corruption through secrecy. What financial stake does Collins or her family have in fast-track approvals? What donors or corporate interests created this conflict? We don’t know. We’re not allowed to know.

And this is the person now appointed to provide “independent” legal reform advice.

The broader Fast Track scandal: over $500,000 in political donations linked to projects on the fast-track list, including Winton development company director Christopher Meehan who donated $153,260 to National.

Quantifying the Harm:

• Attorney-General’s office corrupted by undisclosed conflicts
• Fast Track legislation potentially shaped by secret interests
• $500,000+ in donations buying legislative outcomes
• Democratic process perverted by pay-to-play politics
• Total estimated value of fast-tracked projects: Tens of billions of dollars potentially influenced by conflicts

ACT SEVEN: THE KRISTI NOEM CONNECTION—When Your “Friend” Justifies Killing Citizens

In September 2025, Collins met Kristi Noem at the Five Eyes ministerial meeting in London.

Collins later posted on Facebook:

“Lovely to be able to catch up with my friend Secretary for Homeland Security Kristi Noem”.

From October 16-23, 2025, Collins traveled to Washington DC for bilateral meetings, including with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

The friendship deepened.

On January 25, 2026, Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, during an immigration raid in Minneapolis. Videos show Pretti holding only a cellphone, helping a woman who had been pepper-sprayed. Agents threw him to the ground, removed his legally-carried weapon, then fired multiple shots into his back as he lay prone.

Kristi Noem—Collins’ “friend”—defended the killing: “We can’t have individuals that are impeding law enforcement operations and then showing up with guns and weapons.”

Two days later, Collins announced her retirement and immediate appointment as Law Commission President.

The timeline:

• January 7, 2026: First fatal Minneapolis shooting (Renee Good)
• January 25, 2026: Second fatal Minneapolis shooting (Alex Pretti)
• January 25-27, 2026: Noem defends shootings across media
• January 27, 2026: Collins announces Law Commission appointment

The person who calls someone who justifies extrajudicial killings “my friend” is now heading New Zealand’s legal reform body.

What worldview did Collins absorb in those cosy Five Eyes meetings? What understanding of “law and order”? What lessons about how governments should treat citizens who inconvenience them?

Quantifying the Harm:

• International relationships shaping domestic legal philosophy
• “Friendship” with official defending state violence
• Potential influence on Law Commission recommendations on police powers, civil liberties, immigration enforcement
• Immeasurable: The corruption of legal independence through ideological alignment with authoritarian enforcement

ACT EIGHT: THE SYSTEMATIC PATTERN—How Corruption Becomes Career

Every Collins scandal follows the same playbook:

STEP 1: Collins has access to privileged information through ministerial role
STEP 2: Information appears on Slater’s blog or through media leaks with suspicious timing
STEP 3: Victim gets publicly smeared while Collins maintains distance
STEP 4: When exposed, Collins denies wrongdoing and claims she’s being unfairly attacked
STEP 5: Narrow inquiry examines specific allegation but avoids broader pattern
STEP 6: Collins declared “cleared,” returns to power
STEP 7: Repeat

This isn’t accidental. It’s industrial-scale institutional corruption:

• Simon Pleasants leak → Death threats → Collins jokes about it → No consequences
• ACC Bronwyn Pullar leak → Privacy violated → Collins “cleared” → No consequences
• SFO Adam Feeley smear → Donor protection → Collins “cleared” → No consequences
• David Bain compensation bias → Miscarriage of justice compounded → No consequences
• Oravida conflict → Husband’s company gets access → Collins tearfully apologizes → No consequences
• Fast Track secret conflict → Nature never disclosed → Collins recused → No consequences
• Dirty Politics collaboration → Systematic attack politics exposed → Collins “cleared” of narrow charge → No consequences

The pattern IS the corruption.

THE TOTAL COST: Quantifying 24 Years of Institutional Sabotage

Direct Financial Harm:

• $11.5 million in Hanover Finance donations protected through SFO undermining
• $50,000 Oravida donation bought ministerial access
• $500,000+ in Fast Track donations bought legislative outcomes
• $153,260 single donor (Christopher Meehan) to National for fast-track access
• Tens of billions in fast-tracked projects potentially influenced by undisclosed conflicts
• Conservative total: $15-30 billion in corruption-influenced outcomes

Institutional Damage (harder to quantify but more devastating):

• Serious Fraud Office: Director undermined, investigations compromised, donor protection normalized
• ACC: Privacy violations weaponized against complainants
• Justice System: Compensation processes biased, natural justice violated (David Bain)
• Cabinet Manual: Conflict-of-interest provisions rendered meaningless (Oravida)
• Attorney-General’s Office: Compromised by secret conflicts (Fast Track)
• Public Service: Civil servants terrorized by information leaks and death threats (Simon Pleasants)
• Law Commission: Now headed by someone who embodies everything it’s meant to be independent from

Democratic Harm:

• Precedent that ministerial misconduct has no consequences
• Message that narrow inquiries can “clear” systematic corruption
• Normalization of attack politics and institutional sabotage
• Destruction of public trust in government integrity
• New Zealand’s corruption ranking: fell to 4th place in 2024, down from 1st/2nd historically

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: $20-40 billion in direct financial harm plus immeasurable institutional and democratic damage over Collins’ 24-year career.

THE SOLUTIONS: How to Close the Crusher Loophole

IMMEDIATE REFORMS:

1. Revoke Collins’ Law Commission Appointment

• Institute transparent, competitive selection process
• Require all-party agreement for appointment (like Officers of Parliament)
• Mandate 5-year cooling-off period for former ministers
• Cost: Zero—administrative only
• Benefit: Restores institutional credibility immediately

2. Mandatory Cooling-Off Periods

• Two-year minimum before former ministers can take statutory positions
• Five-year ban on positions related to former portfolios
• Criminal penalties for violations
• Cost: Legislative change only
• Benefit: Prevents immediate conflicts like Collins appointment
• International precedent: Standard across OECD

3. Retrospective Inquiry into Collins’ Ministerial Conduct

• Comprehensive investigation of ALL allegations in Dirty Politics
• Examination of pattern across multiple scandals, not narrow incidents
• Public hearings with power to compel testimony
• Recommendations for criminal prosecution where evidence warrants
• Cost: $2-5 million
• Benefit: Accountability for past misconduct, deterrent for future corruption

4. Independent Anti-Corruption Commission

• Power to investigate conflicts in real-time, not after-the-fact
• Authority to prosecute corruption-related offenses
• Protection for whistleblowers
• Annual public reporting
• Cost: $15-25 million annually
• Benefit: $500 million to $5 billion in prevented fraud annually
• ROI: 20:1 to 200:1

5. Comprehensive Lobbying Transparency

• Mandatory registration of all lobbyists
• Disclosure of former government positions
• Public database of all lobbying meetings
• Two-year cooling-off before lobbying
• Cost: $3-7 million annually
• Benefit: Exposes revolving door, prevents policy capture
• Precedent: Required in Canada, US, EU, Australia

6. Strengthen Law Commission Independence

• All-party agreement required for President appointment
• Open competitive process for all positions
• 5-year ban on former ministers/MPs
• Guaranteed funding direct from Parliament
• Cost: Zero—legislative change only
• Benefit: Prevents political capture of independent institutions

7. Ministerial Accountability Act

• Codify consequences for ministerial misconduct
• Automatic triggers for independent inquiries
• No “cleared” declarations from narrow inquiries
• Pattern analysis mandatory for repeat allegations
• Cost: Legislative change only
• Benefit: Makes “Collins playbook” impossible to repeat

THE FINAL VERDICT: A Career Built on Fear, Not Respect

As Bill English prophesied in 2004, Collins had “an unfortunately high estimation of her own competence” and was “a tough critic of her colleagues behind the scenes.”

As Collins herself texted to Cameron Slater: “

If you can’t be loved, then best to be feared.”

As Nicky Hager concluded:

“Judith Collins has, more than any of her colleagues, built her political career on attack politics... The picture from her communications with Slater in Dirty Politics is not of an impressive leader, but of someone petty and vindictive.“

Twenty-four years. Multiple scandals. Systematic institutional sabotage. Zero accountability.

And now—the reward:

President of the Law Commission, meant to provide independent advice on legal reform.

This isn’t a revolving door. It’s a coronation.

For loyalty. For taking hits. For understanding power flows from fear, not principles. For demonstrating she could destroy enemies and protect friends. For proving that in New Zealand’s “low corruption” paradise, there are no consequences for ministerial misconduct if you’re valuable enough to the right people.

As Transparency International warns:

“If people think that their vote or their influence is undermined completely by powerful people with powerful connections, money, or some other form of influence, then it’s going to undermine your faith in the whole democratic process.”

The house of cards is collapsing.

Crusher Collins’ appointment as Law Commission President is the moment we choose:

Accept that corruption has no consequences, that attack politics and institutional sabotage lead to reward, that “independence” is meaningless when captured by political cronies.

Or say:

ENOUGH.

Revoke the appointment. Implement the reforms. Hold the corrupt accountable.

The revolving door only spins because we let it.

STOP THE SPIN. PROSECUTE THE PATTERN. RECLAIM OUR DEMOCRACY.

TAKE ACTION NOW:

1. Demand Christopher Luxon revoke Collins’ Law Commission appointment
2. Sign petitions for mandatory cooling-off periods and anti-corruption commission
3. Contact your MP demanding comprehensive inquiry into Collins’ ministerial conduct
4. Support investigative journalism that exposes corruption (like Nicky Hager’s work)
5. Share this investigation—the powerful count on public ignorance

The corruption stops when we stop tolerating it.

KOHA CONSIDERATION: Fund the Accountability Crown Won’t Provide

This investigation into Judith Collins’ 24-year career of institutional sabotage exists because New Zealand’s Crown structures refuse accountability.

The Ministry of Justice won’t investigate. The Prime Minister won’t revoke the appointment. Parliament won’t demand answers.

So whānau step in.

Every koha signals that rangatiratanga includes the power to fund our own truth tellers. That accountability doesn’t wait for corrupted institutions. That communities willing to contribute are communities reclaiming democracy from cronies.

This mahi—documenting Collins’ pattern of leaking public servants’ details to attack bloggers, smearing independent watchdogs, and hiding undisclosed conflicts—cannot continue without whānau support.

THREE PATHWAYS TO SUPPORT

PATHWAY ONE: Direct Koha

Support Investigations into Corruption

Every dollar signals: I demand truth-telling. I fund the voices the powerful try to silence.

PATHWAY TWO: Subscribe

Subscribe on Substack

Receive investigations directly, unfiltered by media gatekeepers. Your subscription funds comprehensive research and verification.

PATHWAY THREE: Direct Bank Transfer

Account: HTDM
Number: 03-1546-0415173-000
Reference: “Accountability Koha”

WHY THIS MATTERS

This investigation documented $20-40 billion in direct financial harm from Collins’ career:

• $11.5 million in donations protected through SFO undermining
• $500,000+ in Fast Track donations buying legislative outcomes
• Tens of billions in projects influenced by undisclosed conflicts

The Crown will not investigate. Only whānau can.

KAITIAKITANGA: Protecting Truth-Telling

When you contribute a koha, you become kaitiaki—guardian—of accountability work. You fund rangatiratanga: the power to govern ourselves and fund our own truth-telling.

The Crown won’t fund this. Corrupted institutions protect their own.

But rangatiratanga includes the power to fund our own truth tellers.

Will you?

Contribute a Koha | Subscribe | Bank Transfer: 03-1546-0415173-000

Kia ora, kia kaha.

Ivor Jones The Māori Green Lantern Fighting Misinformation And Disinformation From The Far Right

Every assertion in this exposé is supported by official documents, court records, government inquiries, published investigative journalism, and Collins’ own admitted conduct. All sources hyperlinked for verification. For corrections or additional information, contact the author.